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LLOYD
family, of
Dolobran, Mont.

The family of
Lloyd
of
Dolobran
, in the parish of
Meifod, Mont.
, has distinguished itself in the annals of the
Quakers
in
Wales
, in the
iron industry
, in the
banking
world, and in
public administration
in the
United States
and the
British Empire
. In common with several other
Powys
families they traced their descent from
ALETH
,
king
of
Demetia
. Tradition relates that
CELYNIN AP
fled from
Demetia
to
Powys
after slaying the
mayor of Carmarthen
. A
Kelennyn ap Ririd
was a
juror
in
Mechain Uchcoed
in
1292
. The upper reaches of the pedigree are confused.
Gwladys
, daughter and heiress of
Rhiryd ap Cynfrig Efell
of
Llwydiarth
, is given as the wife of
Rhiryd
and of his son
Celynin
. According to
Dwnn
,
Celynin
's mother was
Gwladys
, daughter of
Meredith ap Rhydderch
, a descendant of
Tewdwr Mawr
.
Gwenllian
, daughter of
Adam ap Meyrick ap Pasgen
, is also given as the wife of
Celynin
, and of his son,
EINION
. This
Adam ap Meyrick
may have been the
sinecure rector
of
Meifod
,
c. 1265
.
Einion
was living in
1340
.
LLEWELYN
is named in a pardon granted by
John
de
Cherleton
,
lord of Powys
, to his grandson,
Griffith ap Jenkin ap Llewelyn
, in
1419
, for his complicity in the war of
Owain Glyn Dŵr
. His widow,
Lucy
, daughter of
Griffith ab EdnyfedLloyd
of
Bromfield
, was then alive. His third son,
DEIO
, was the first to be associated with
Dolobran
. (The
Vaughan
family of
Llwydiarth
, q.v.
, issued from the eldest son,
Jenkin
).
Deio
's first wife was
Mary
, daughter of
Griffith Goch
of
Ruyton xi Towns
or of
Knockyn
. The
Vaughans
of
Glasgoed
issued from this marriage, and
David ap Owen
,
abbot
and
bishop
(q.v.)
, was a grandson of these two.
IEUAN
, son of the second wife,
Meddefus
, daughter, or sister, of
GriffithVaughan
of
Deytheur
, and possibly the widow of
David Aber
, inherited
Dolobran
. He m.
Maud
, daughter of
EvanBlayney
of
Tregynon
(a
burgess
of
Welshpool
,
1406
).
OWEN
m.
Catherine
, daughter of
Reginald
, son of
SirGriffithVaughan
of
Guilsfield
who was
murdered
in the
Red Castle
in
1447
.
IEUAN
or
IEUAN
m.
Gwenhwyvar
, daughter of
MeredithLloyd
of
Meifod
.
JohnWyn
of
Dyffryn
was his brother.

The surname
Lloyd
was established in the next generation with
DAVID
(a
juror
in
Montgomeryshire
,
1542
).
1523
is given as the year of his birth, but it is difficult to reconcile this with the eulogy which
William Llŷn
addressed to him and his wife,
Eve
, daughter of
Edward ap Rees
of
Eglwyseg
, where it is suggested that they were in the yellow leaf. This poem is placed in
1562
, though it is possible that such an early date cannot be substantiated.
Simwnt Vychan
also sang the praises of these two. It is also said that he was m. to
Marred
, daughter of
Ieuan Davydd Goch
, but she is more likely to have been a
concubine
. The heir was the
poetDavid ap DavidLloyd
, a
juror
in
Montgomeryshire
from
1576 to 1594
, otherwise known as
Dafydd ap Dafydd Llwyd
(q.v.)
. His son
JOHNLLOYD
(b.
1575
) was also a
poet
. He lived at
Coedcowryd
, and his first wife was his second cousin,
Catherine
, daughter of
Humphrey ap John Wyn
of
Dyffryn
, but the wife named in his will was
Elizabeth
. The will was proved in
1636
, and his name was taken off the roll of
Montgomeryshire
jurors in
1638
. His heir
CHARLESLLOYD
(
I
)
was b. in
1613
. He enlarged the house at
Dolobran
and m.
Elizabeth
, daughter of
ThomasStanley
of
Knockyn
, who is stated to have been an
authority on genealogy
. He d. comparatively young, and was buried at
Meifod
17 Aug. 1657
, leaving three sons,
CHARLES
(b.
9 Dec. 1637
),
JOHN
(b.
1638
), and
THOMAS
(b.
17 Feb. 1640
), who are said to have been educated at
Jesus College
,
Oxford
, and to have
studied medicine
, but
Foster
's evidence is inconclusive. We have
CharlesLloyd
's own statement that he and his brother
Thomas
were at
Oxford
, and
RichardDavies
the
Quaker
stated that both brothers left because they were tired of the persecution of
Quakers
there.
John
turned his attention to
law
and was one of the Six
Clerks of Chancery
. He m.
JaneGresham
, a descendant of
SirThomasGresham
,
founder of the Royal Exchange
, and remained a loyal
churchman
, presenting communion plate to
Meifod church
.
CharlesLloyd
(
II
)
joined the
Quakers
in
1662
, and was one of the group imprisoned at
Welshpool
in that year. His wife,
Elizabeth
, daughter of
SampsonLort
(see under
Lort
) followed him to prison. He was allowed to take a house in
Welshpool
about
1663
at the supplication of
RichardDavies
and his own brother
ThomasLloyd
, who had by this time become a
Quaker
. He and his friends were released under the
Declaration of Indulgence
,
1672
. He returned to
Dolobran
where he extended the house and
built a meeting house for Quakers
. In
1681
he and his brother
Thomas
took part in a disputation with
WilliamLloyd
,
bishop of S. Asaph
, and other clergy. In
1682
he visited
Quakers
in
Herefordshire
and
Worcestershire
, and placed the cause of the
BristolQuakers
before
SirLeolineJenkins
(q.v.)
. He m.
AnnLawrence
in
1686
, his first wife having d. in
1665
(buried at
Cloddiau Cochion
). He d. at the house of his daughter
ElizabethPemberton
in
Birmingham
in
1698
, and his widow, in
1708
. They were buried in the
Bull Lane cemetery
in that city. A letter by him concerning a discussion between his brother and
MorganJones
on the alleged discovery of
America
by the
Welsh
was printed in
N.Owen
's
British Remains
(
1777
). Together with one
MargaretDavies
he had purchased a share of 5,000 acres in
Pennsylvania
from
WilliamPenn
in 1684. His brother
ThomasLloyd
, who was a
preacher
with the
Quakers
, and who suffered imprisonment at
Welshpool
from
1664 to 1672
, emigrated. After his release
Thomas
had lived at
Maes-mawr
, near
Welshpool
, suffering persecution and fines. In
1683
he took his wife, a daughter of
GilbertJones
of
Welshpool
, and family to
Pennsylvania
. She was the first to be buried in the
Arch Street cemetery
in
Philadelphia
. He was made
president of the provincial council
in
1684
and was
deputy-governor
for
Pennsylvania
from
WilliamPenn
until
1693
, when the province was taken over by the
Crown
. He opposed the introduction of a militia into the province, and was the most powerful and popular
leader
in
Pennsylvania
in his period. He d. in
1694
, and was buried at
Philadelphia
. Two pamphlets by him have been published:
An epistle to my Dear and well beloved Friends of Dolobran
,
1788
, and
A Letter to John Eccles and Wife
,
1805
.
DavidLloyd
(b. at
Manafon
about
1656
; d. at
Chester, Pa.
,
1731
),
chief justice
of
Pennsylvania
, was a relative, but the exact degree is not known. A
DavidLloyd
revised
A Salutation to the Britains
,
Philadelphia
,
1727
, a translation by
RowlandEllis
(q.v.)
of
EllisPugh
's (q.v.)
Annerch ir Cymru
.

CharlesLloyd
(
II
)
left two sons,
Charles
(b.
1662
) and
Sampson
(b.
1664
).
CHARLESLLOYD
(
III
)
m.
Sarah
, daughter of
AmbroseCrowley
, in
1693
. He further enlarged the house at
Dolobran
, and
established an iron forge
on his estate, but, before
1733
, removed to
Birmingham
, where his brother,
SAMPSONLLOYD
(d.
1724
), had been engaged
in the iron industry
. He was buried there in
1747 or 1749
. His son
CHARLESLLOYD
(
IV
)
, who was b. in
1697
, maintained connection with
Dolobran
, though the estate was heavily mortgaged, his father having lost thousands of pounds in his industrial ventures. His wife was
JaneWilkins
. One of their daughters,
Jane
(b.
1728
), m.
LewisOwen
of
Tyddyn-y-garreg
, a member of an old
WelshQuaker
family — see the article on the family. The heir,
CHARLESLLOYD
(
1726
-
1773
), d. unmarried, in
France
, and his brother,
JAMESLLOYD
(
1740
-
1787
), who also d. unmarried, sold the estate.

The main line was now represented by the descendants of
SampsonLloyd
, second son of
CharlesLloyd
(
II
)
. This is not the place to follow their interesting contacts with religious, humanitarian, and mercantile movements in
Birmingham
and
London
. (See
Rachel J.Lowe
,
Farm and its Inhabitants
,
1883
, for a record of the family's activity in religious and literary circles;
CharlesLloyd
the
poet
was one of them; in the
iron industry
, in the
banking ventures
now represented by
Lloyds Bank
, in the
movement for the abolition of slavery
, etc.). At the end of a century of alienation they resumed ownership of the ancient patrimony.
Dolobran
and the old meeting house were bought by
SAMPSONLLOYD
in
1877
and another member of the family,
HENRYLLOYD
, had bought
Lower Dolobran
and
Coedcowryd
in
1872-3
.
GEORGELLOYD
(
1879
-
1941
),
first baron Lloyd of Dolobran
, was the second son of
Sampson SamuelLloyd
, the heir of the purchaser of
Dolobran
.

Sources:

NLW MSS
6990, 15324;

Peniarth Manuscript in the National Library of
Wales
287;

Wynnstay Manuscript at the National Library of
Wales, Aberystwyth
144;

Dolobran deeds;

diaries of
John Kelsall
(in the Friends' House, London);

Heraldic Visitations
of Wales and Part of the Marches
(1846)
, i, 294;

Burke's Landed Gentry
,
1937
;

Burke's … Peerage, Baronetage, and
Knightage
,
1940
;

Lowe
,
Farm and its Inhabitants with some account
of the Lloyds of Dolobran
(London, 1883)
,
1883
;

S. Lloyd
,
The Lloyds of Birmingham, with some account
of the founding of Lloyds bank
(Birmingham, 1907)
,
1907-9
;

An account of the convincement, exercises,
services and travels of that ancient servant of the Lord,
Richard Davies. With some relation of ancient friends, and
the spreading of truth in North-Wales, etc.
(London,
1710)
;

T. A. Glenn
,
Merion in the Welsh Tract with sketches of
the townships of Haverford and Radnor : historical and
genealogical collections concerning the Welsh barony in the
province of Pennsylvania, settled by the Cymric Quakers in
1682
(1896)
;